Holy Cross orders oppose railway plan

Brothers, sisters petition federal transportation panel.

Brothers, sisters petition federal transportation panel.

August 05, 2006|MARGARET FOSMOE Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Two Catholic religious orders are opposing a plan to reopen a long-dormant railroad line through South Bend. The Brothers of Holy Cross this week filed a petition with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board urging the board to revoke an exemption allowing the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend Railway Co. to buy and start service on the old rail line. The Sisters of the Holy Cross sent a letter to the board in July urging the railroad plan to be rejected because of safety issues. South Bend Railway still plans to haul coal on the line, although University of Notre Dame administrators have said coal will not be delivered to campus by rail if South Bend leaders oppose the idea. South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke and other city leaders are fighting the proposal to reopen the rail line. The rail line goes through the city's west side and continues through property at Holy Cross College and Saint Mary's College. Reopening the rail line would be a public nuisance for individuals at Holy Cross College and Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame, a retirement community the order owns north of campus, according to a petition filed by Barnes & Thornburg, attorneys for the Brothers of Holy Cross Inc. The petition also states that the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized abandonment of part of that railroad right of way in 1984. As evidence, it cites some tracks the Sisters of the Holy Cross had removed from its property next to the Inn at Saint Mary's. Early documentation from the first railroad to use that line -- in 1870 -- indicates the owner was required to maintain the rail property, according to the petition. Because the line hasn't been maintained for more than a decade, the 60-foot railroad right of way has expired and now belongs to the Brothers, the petition claims. The Brothers' petition also suggests there must be an underlying reason why South Bend Railway wants to acquire the rail line because there are no known freight customers along the line. That reason may be to acquire the rail and other track materials to capitalize on the price of scrap steel by abandoning the line shortly after it is purchased, a practice that has been condemned in the past by the Surface Transportation Board, the petition states. Reopening the rail line presents serious safety issues that would affect Saint Mary's College and the Inn at Saint Mary's, Sister Joy O'Grady, president of the Sisters of the Holy Cross Inc., wrote in a letter to the board. Trains could block traffic at the two campus entrances and cut off access for emergency vehicles, O'Grady wrote. "When the Railroad was operating in the 1970s and early 1980s, this was a significant issue. There were a number of times when emergency vehicles could not get to the College campus. The absence of crossing gates where the Railroad cross (Saint Mary's) Avenue and State Road 933 is also a safety issue," she wrote. The noise created by trains and their horns, and dust from coal would negatively affect the campus, according to O'Grady. On behalf of South Bend Railway, Washington attorney John Heffner filed a response to O'Grady's letter. Noting the rail line dead-ends near Saint Mary's, the reply states the Sisters greatly exaggerate the impact of proposed train operations. "Based on 850 carloads of coal projected per year being moved in 15 car blocks there would only be a total of 57 round trips or a total of 114 movements per year," the reply states. One 15-car train could cross a road in 60 seconds moving at 10 mph, it states. The reply does not identify any freight customers. Notre Dame officials have said their coal vendor assured them coal will not be delivered by rail to campus unless the university authorizes it. Heffner's reply also states the railroad never exercised its right to abandon part of the track at Saint Mary's. "It was the Sisters, and NOT Conrail or Norfolk Southern that removed track on this segment," he wrote. "As global warming and energy concerns make this country rethink its transportation policies, it will become more important for railroads and their neighbors to learn to coexist," he wrote. South Bend Railway plans to buy the unused rail line from Norfolk Southern. Besides freight service, the company also is considering providing limited passenger service along the line using old South Shore Railroad passenger cars.Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe: mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6329